The press in the 18th century had much in common with the blogosphere today. Printing had just become advanced enough to become a mass medium capable of cheaply putting out frequent and timely editions and literacy was becoming widespread amongst an increasingly concentrated urban population.

The broadsides of the time made no pretense at objectivity, indeed, they were proudly partisan, but in spite of their outrageous claims, people had still not developed a skepticism about their veracity. Pamphleteers quickly acquired political reputations and followers. Printers like Franklin were much like today's bloggers in that their work put them, middle class tradesmen and merchants, at the center of a communications medium that was ubiquitous, democratic and unregulated.

Although printing was primarily a trade supporting commerce, it lent itself to political and religious propaganda and it was a relatively cheap and safe way to stir up trouble anonymously. The first journalists appeared soon after, "correspondents" who kept their papers supplied with letters from faraway centers of news. By the beginning of the 19th century, the original penny sheets had evolved into today's newspapers and magazines. Although defenders of the internet press recognize these parallels, its enemies do too. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.